


The queen and the mercenary

by Vault_Emblem



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: FE8 Week 2017, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Post-Canon, if you didn't like eirika and ephraim's ending this is for you then
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-08 05:10:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12247656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: After the events of the game, the twins grow apart due to their respective duties, but no matter how far they are, they'll always be close.(Written for the FE8 Week 2017 | Prompt: Home/Adventure)





	The queen and the mercenary

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I’ll just say it now so it doesn’t come up in the comments.  
> Yes, I use hyphens for dialogues and quotation marks for thoughts. Why? Because this is how we do in Italy, the country I’m from (actually there’s more freedom in Italy and more than one method to use this kind of punctuation but whatever).  
> This is the method I’ve learned and the one I’m used to, and I don’t think I’ll even change it.  
> Please, I beg you, stop pointing it out, it’s starting to get really annoying, especially when that’s the only thing people comment about.

Finally a moment of peace.

Eirika sighs and she walks over to throne, sitting on it.

Being a queen is tiring, but she's happy: she's helping her people the best she can, and everybody loves her.

 

 

Turns out all those "boring" lessons – as Ephraim always called them – have been very useful.

 

 

Seth approaches her.

He always worries about her state, even though she have reassured him countless times that she can take care of herself, that she's not a child that needs constant supervision.

Eirika knows he has no ill intent: he only has her best interests in mind, even though it's normal for a queen to get overworked if she’s doing her job well, isn't it?

\- My queen, shall we close the gate? -, he asked, - It’s getting dark. You need to rest -.

 

Eirika hates closing the gates.

What if someone needs help? What if something happens during that time?

She knows however that it's also a way to ensure her safety, so that none could enter and try to assassinate her in her sleep.

 

Ephraim has written again.

 

 

He was there when she's been crowned, happy like none else.

He was so proud of his sister.

She deserved that title; she deserved to be queen.

As for him, he had taken a decision: he knew he could've helped more with his lance than his words.

He never wanted to be king; he never cared about that, so a few days after the coronation he left the castle.

 

He's spending his days as a traveling mercenary, helping the people Eirika can’t reach from Renais castle.

Of course he isn't alone: with him, in fact, there are his most trusted companions, Forde and Kyle.

Forde had been happy to follow him. He said that at least now his lifestyle won't be as strict as when he was a knight – and of course Kyle scolded him for that – but it was obvious that he cared about the people they were helping. He still believes this is the best thing to do.

Kyle had been more hesitant to abandon his place as a knight, but he wasn't going to leave Ephraim and Forde go alone. Someone had to keep an eye of them to make sure they didn't kill themselves in an attempt to do something too big for them.

 

It isn't an easy life: they don't ask much for payment, and sometimes they don't want it at all, especially from the poorer people, but they are well known and loved.

They don't care about where they're sleeping at night as long as they're helping the people of Renais live better.

 

Whenever they're on some brigand group's tail, it never ends well for the latter.

 

When he has time, or when something big happens, Ephraim writes to his sister.

They can't keep a correspondence because he's never in the same place for too long, but he wants her to know that he's fine. Besides, if something happened to the queen, the news would spread pretty quickly.

When he sends Eirika his letters, usually Forde sends something too. He tells Franz about all the cool things he's doing, but he also wants to let him know that he's fine.

Kyle writes less often, and he usually sends his letters on his own, but he never talks about it. Ephraim has accidentally overheard some bits of conversations between him and Forde and he knows that the letters he writes are for his sister but it doesn't seem the two of them are very close. He never asks anything though; if Kyle doesn't want to talk about it with him, he respects his decision, even though he's a bit curious.

 

 

When they visit the castle, Eirika's always the first person who greets them.

She would run towards Ephraim, all his regal demeanour forgotten, and she would pretty much jump on him, hugging tightly his shoulders.

\- Welcome home, brother -, she always says, and Ephraim nods, even though for him the castle isn't a home anymore.

Then a similar scene would happen between Franz and Forde.

Forde's always more enigmatic about how he really feels about everything, but during those occasion it's clear as day that he's happy to see his brother again.

Kyle never gets such a warm welcome; there's nobody who wants to see him in particular, and Ephraim sometimes wonders if he minds or if he feels lonely, but he never asks.

Maybe one day he should.

 

They never stay for long, though. The more days they spend there, the more Ephraim grows restless.

He should be out there swinging his lance, not inside the castle.

When they leave, it's always obvious that Forde would love to stay some more.

On the other hand, Kyle never complains; he's always ready.

 

Ephraim turns his head, looking at the castle for a last time.

He can see Eirika on one of the balconies, gazing upon the leaving group with sad eyes.

They both know, however, that no matter how far they are, they'll always be with the other.

Then Ephraim looks again in front of him. He feels Forde and Kyle's gaze over him but he keeps marching ahead, ready for the next adventure.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hate hate hate Eirika and Ephraim's ending. Since he never cared about that and he didn't put any effort in his preparation for this kind of duty, Ephraim shouldn't be king. I'd rather have him as a wandering mercenary, with Eirika that stays at the castle and, y'know, has the throne.
> 
> I also put some headcanons of mine about Forde and Kyle, especially Kyle. He just mentions his sister, but I feel like the two aren't as united as Eirika and Ephraim or Franz and Forde.  
> Also yeah I think he's that kind of people that has like, 3 friends, but despite that situation I don't think he feels lonely, mostly cause he's used to it or because he doesn't care.


End file.
